China, the New Center

Salát, Gergely (2023) China, the New Center. EURASIA ERA, 1 (1). pp. 10-26. ISSN 3003-9711

Preview

Text China_the_new_center.pdf - Published Version Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

Thanks to the rapid economic development in the past four decades, China has become one of the global political and economic poles, an important player in a multipolar world order. China’s development is more than quantitative growth, as in the era of ‘reform and opening-up’ the country has moved up the value chain, or using the categories of Wallerstein’s world systems analysis, moved from the periphery to the semi-periphery, and is well on its way to become a part of the center or form a new center. According to some researchers, at present it should already be seen as a ‘quasicenter’ that differs from both the semi-peripheral and traditional center areas. While it still carries out significant activities, characteristic to the periphery, such as providing cheap labor with low added value for traditional technology-defining center countries, in certain segments it already plays a role more characteristic of centers, uses cutting-edge technology, sets standards, invests capital, and supplies industrial products in exchange for natural resources. The Belt and Road Initiative can also be seen as an attempt to regain a central position. This role is not new to China, as in its own region the country has played a central role in much of history, and it was only in the last one and a half century when the country was pushed first to the periphery, then to a state of complete isolation, when it did not take part in the international division of labor. China’s rise will reshape center– semi-periphery–periphery relations in Eurasia and around the world, significantly transforming the current world system, offering an alternative and more room for maneuver to current centers.

Actions (login required)

View Item